OTTAWA -- A local family says an ongoing dispute with its tenant, could leave them with no place to live.
After selling their primary residence, Justin Trudel and his family were set to move into their rental property next month, but fear a looming eviction freeze could leave them without a roof over their heads.
Trudel alleges the tenant was asked to vacate the rental property months ago, so the Trudel family could move in. The family adds that the tenant has not paid any fees for six-months.
The property has been a rental for the Trundel family for the last year, but in June, Trudel said he stopped receiving rent payments from the tenant.
“There’s been some promises of payments, some attempts to come to payment agreements, a lot of our emails and texts are going unanswered - still no payments,” Trudel said.
With the bills racking up, Trudel and his family chose to sell their primary residence, set to close on February 21, and move into their rental property.
“Two mortgages for our family is a stretch to begin with, two young kids, two daycare bills,” he said.
In August, Trudel submitted an application to the Landlord and Tenant Board to evict the tenant for non-payment. He waited until December for a hearing and the board approved the request.
“At that point they informed us an evictions order was imminent, I believe they stated up to thirty days it would take, that time has now gone and past,” said Trudel.
But now, with a State of Emergency in effect, Trudel is concerned a looming tenant eviction ban will leave him and his family without a home to move into.
“Another 28-day freeze puts us out of our house,” he said.
CTV has attempted to contact the tenant but has not heard back.
“The sheriff here in Ottawa, I’m advised they’re waiting for clarification from the province and the expectation is that there will be a tenant eviction moratorium again during this new state of emergency,” said Ottawa Lawyer Michael Thiele, Partner at Quinn Miele Mineaukt Grodzki LLP.
“It puts landlords who have significant rental arrears in a very tough spot, because there’s no legal recourse, there’s no remedy, there’s nothing they can do,” he added.
“Our original thought was to move in with relatives, unfortunately right now those relatives live on the Quebec side with those restrictions over there, and co-mingling households isn’t really an ideal situation,” said Trudel.
With just over a month left in their current home — Trudel, his two kids, and his wife, are left with questions about the roof over their heads.
“I’m just concerned what the end result will be, where we’re going to live,” he said.
